ADE: Designing for Productivity

A few months ago, I read an article on one of my favorite websites, The 99 Percent, about the cognitive relationship between your work environment and work activities. In short, the article suggests that, to improve productivity, designate locales for specific types of tasks:

When you leverage the fact that you have emotional and mental responses to specific places, you can dramatically increase your productivity.

Days later, I came across two beautiful work spaces by designer Daniel Romualdez. Each vignette is simple and serene - perfect for brainstorming, journaling, or sketching. It underscored the lack of such spaces in my own home. Though itty bitty, my condo must accommodate varying environments to facilitate creative thinking. I just hope they’re equally tranquil.

The idea of multiple work spaces also challenged my notion of the “home office” that many clients, and their designers, try so desperately to perfect. We attempt to design one room, or space, that can accommodate every possible activity. Perhaps, we should rethink this tradition and design for the way our brains work. Wouldn’t it be lovely to have a designated letter-writing space vs. an internet research desk vs. a business planning nook?

It’s just a thought. Still mulling it over.

Images: Architectural Digest

A Designer's Eye (ADE) focuses on training and refining my artistic eye; developing my instincts; learning to trust them; and sharing what I find.